1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to pet toy dispensers, in particular those which dispense toys containing food and otherwise amuse and alert a pet by providing various physical stimuli.
2. Prior Artxe2x80x94Challenging and Automated Feeding Systems
When left alone, animals frequently become discontented, bored, and hungry. This is cruel to the animals and leads to behavior problems such as barking, digging, and destructive activities on the part of canines and different problems with other animals. Some prior-art schemes have addressed the problem of unattended feeding of animals.
Hamilton, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,815 (1999), shows a boredom-reducing feeding device for caged animals comprising various food-sequestering devices, such as a brush and a dipstick-tube. Hamilton""s device presents various challenges to a caged animal such as a primate, but does not delay or space feedings, as is desirable for pets.
Riba, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,341 (1975), shows a machine for feeding a pet when the owner is absent. An alarm clock is used to open a door and eject a platform with a pet dish. Only a single feeding event occurs while the owner is absent.
Mazzini, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,702 (1976) shows a periodic feeder with a series of rotatable compartments for dispensing the food as the compartments rotate past a hole. Mazzini""s system provides more opportunities for feeding than Riba, but it does not address the issue of stress experienced by the animal when it is left alone.
While providing food is desirable, this alone does not provide adequate care for a pet. Riba and Mazzini both teach food-dispensing events that occur at fixed intervals, either with respect to the last event or with respect to the time of day. This allows the animal to become habituated to the feeding event, and thus the automatic feeders do not reduce boredom between events nor provide any relief for a pet""s separation anxiety.
Watson, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,027 (2001) shows an automatic training device that dispenses food, toys, or other rewards, typically on a fixed time interval as long as undesired behavior is not detected. If undesired behavior, such as barking, is detected, rewards are withheld until the undesired behavior is no longer detected. This device can be effective for targeting specific undesired behaviors but requires the incorporation of behavior detectors, which can be complex, expensive, and overly specific.
In addition, Watson""s device may automatically adjust the time interval between regular reward dispensations for the purpose of rationing the available rewards over a given overall time period. This adjustment to the time interval is not designed to increase the pet""s interest in the device nor relieve the pet""s anxiety at the beginning or the end of the pet owner""s absence, when behavior problems for the isolated pet are the most severe.
Pet chew toys that may be filled with food to be extracted by the pet are well known. Examples of these chew toys are sold under the trademarks Kong by Bounce, Inc. of Golden, Colo., USA, and Rhino by Nylabone, a division of T.F.H. Publications of Neptune City, N. J., USA. Such a toy is also shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,947,061 (1999) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,053 (2000) to Markham et al. This toy has various recesses in its outer surface, as well as a hollow interior. Food treats are deposited in the recesses and interior. Various levels of difficulty in removing the treats are achieved, depending upon the location, density, solubility, adhesion, and so forth, of the food treats and the shape of toy.
A cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the Kong toy is shown in FIG. 1. The body of toy 100 is made of a rugged, semi-elastic material, such as rubber. It is hollow with a first hole 105 at one end (bottom end in drawing) and a second hole 110 at the other end (top end in drawing). The hardness of the rubber comprising toy 100 is about 100 durometer units. A dog""s bite can slightly deform toy 100, but not flatten it. Toy 100 is available in various sizes suitable for dogs of different sizes. A typical size is 14 cm long and 8 cm in diameter, at the widest point. The wall thickness is typically 1.5 cm. The diameter of hole 105 at the bottom of toy 100 is typically 1 cm, while the diameter of hole 110 at the top is typically 3.2 cm.
Food 130 of various kinds is stuffed into cavity 140 of toy 100. Food 130 can be dry or wet dog food, fruits, cheese, meat, eggs, peanut butter, and the like. It can be hot, cold, or frozen.
Hole 110 is the primary entrance and exit for food 130. An xe2x80x9cappetizerxe2x80x9d tidbit 160 (shaped like a bone) projects from hole 110 to entice the dog to begin eating the contents of toy 100.
Food-filled pet chew toys are frequently used to distract and entertain pets prior to an extended absence. The pet""s owner typically fills the toy with food and hands the toy to the pet prior to the owner""s departure. This is effective in keeping a pet""s interest for up to an hour in extracting the food from the chew toy. However, once the food is extracted the remaining time of the pet""s isolation is without entertaining stimulation. In the case of a ten-hour absence, as may be expected when a pet owner leaves for work in the morning, this translates to a nine-hour isolation with no entertaining stimulation.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are to provide an improved system for feeding a pet, to alleviate boredom, and to reduce stress for the pet while the pet""s owner is absent, including the times at the beginning and at the end of an owner""s absence when an isolated pet""s anxiety is often the highest. Other objects are to provide a system that amuses and entertains the pet by dispensing toys, providing auditory, visual, tactile, and olfactory stimuli at various random intervals to prevent habituation to any one event, or at predetermined intervals biased to reduce separation anxiety without requiring the use of behavior detectors.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings.
In accordance with the invention, an apparatus and method are provided which dispense food-filled toys at random, unpredictable intervals or at biased predetermined intervals. Within a selected set of random interval dispensations, jackpots, or multiple dispensations of food-filled toys, can occasionally occur at a single dispensation event to further reinforce the pet""s interest in the device. Predetermined intervals are biased such that the dispensations occur more frequently after the owner leaves and before the owner returns, when a pet""s separation anxiety is the highest. In addition, the system emits sounds, odors, vibrations, and visible signals at random intervals or at predetermined intervals in conjunction with food-filled toy dispensation.